Geneva, 19 July 1993. The fifth in a series of exhibitions at CERN¹ presenting European research activities will be open to the public from 23 July to 11 September. CERN has invited the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) to present an overview of present research and technical developments in the field of thermonuclear fusion in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Fusion is one of the most exciting fields of scientific research, being the attempt to produce an unlimited and environmentally friendly source of energy by fusing atoms together. The sun itself is a huge fusion reactor and the "Fusion Expo '93" will demonstrate how scientists are trying to reproduce the sun's activity in controlled conditions.

"Fusion Expo '93" is a completely new exhibition which will be officially inaugurated at CERN on July 23, 1993 by Prof Francis Troyon, Director of the Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas (EPFL-Lausanne) and Dr Pierre Darriulat, Director of Research at CERN. After CERN the exhibition will set off on a tour of European cities. The exhibition is designed to fascinate the widest range of visitors, there will be 'something for everyone', from members of the public who, as yet, know nothing about fusion, to scientists who wish to extend their knowledge. Using picture panels, scale models and video displays the exhiiition outlines the progress made towards achieving fusion in present day devices and also the ambitions of future projects.

Particularly interesting are special interactive computers displays that have been created for this exhibition. These multimedia displays allow visitors to learn about all different areas and techniques of fusion research at their own speed. By simply clicking on different areas of the computer screen the visitor can set off on a guided tour of the current state of fusion research. Throughout the exhibition young scientists will be on hand to give additional explanations.

To mark the official opening of the exhibition a colloquium will be held in the Auditorium of CERN's Main Building on 23 July. This colloquium begins at 14:30 and the main speaker will be Dr Rebut, Director of the Engineering Design Activities of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER-EDA), who will give an overview of the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Journalists and members of the public are invited to attend this colloquium.

"Fusion Expo '93" has been produced by a collaboration between CERN Microcosm and the EURATOM Suisse Association at Lausanne and has received contributions and support from research institutes from all around the world.

The organizers of the exhibition, sponsored by Euratom, would like to thank the following EURATOM agencies for contributing displays, pictures, mock-ups and other items:

• Euratom - CEA Association, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), France
• Euratom - IPF Association, Max-Planck Institut fŸr Plasmaphysik (IPP), Germany
• Euratom - KFA Association, Forschungszentrum JŸlich GmbH (KFA), Germany
• Euratom - EB Association, Etat Belge (EB), Belgium
• Euratom - ENEA Association, Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie l'Energia e l'Ambiente (ENEA), Italy
• Euratom - UKAEA Association, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), United Kingdom
• Euratom - Suisse Association, ConfŽdŽration Suisse, Switzerland
• Euratom - KFK Association, Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (KFK), Germany
• Euratom- CIEMAT Association, Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas Medioambientales y Tecnologicas CIEMAT, Spain
• Euratom - IST Association, Instituto Superior TŽcnico, Portugal
• JET Joint Undertaking, United Kingdom
• Joint Research Centre (JRC) ISPRA, Italy

• - Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), Limeil, France
• - Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI), Ecole Polytechnique, France
• - Gesellschaft fŸr Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Darmstadt, Germany
• - INR-KFK (Laboratory for Light Ion Fusion Research), Karslruhe, Germany
• - Max Planck for Quantumoptik (MPQ) , Germany
• - General Atomic (GA), San Diego, USA
• - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, USA
• - Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratories (PPPL), Princeton, USA
• - Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, USA
• - Japanese Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), Naka, Japan
• - Kyoto University - Plasma Physics Laboratory, Kyoto, Japan
• - National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), Nagoya, Japan

The exhibition will be open daily (Sunday excepted) from 9 am to 5 pm in the CERN's Main Building. The exhibition is open to all without reservation but groups are asked to contact CERN on 767 8484 before arrival.

 

1. CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its Member States are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Israel, the Russian Federation, Turkey, Yugoslavia (status suspended after UN embargo, June 1992), the European Commission and Unesco have observer status.